Closer to Home
by xoloveJBox
Summary: Lana doesn't exactly have a very good relationship with her biological brother and sister, but when her adoptive father, our own very special agent Tony DiNozzo, goes missing, who else does she have to rely on? Sucky summary sorry! Please Read!
1. Prologue

_**A/N Hows it guys?**_

_**So, this is the sequel to A part of their family, and is set about six months after the end of that story. It would probably help to read that first, but I suppose it doesnt really make any difference :D **_

_**I don't own NCIS or any of it's characters. My only original characters are Lana, and her older brother and sister. **_

_**Please R+R because I'd love to hear what people think! **_

_**Just to make it clear straight away, in this chapter, the stuff in italics is a dream that Gibbs is having about when he was seventeen.**_

_**Thanks again,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

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><p><em><strong>Prologue. <strong>_

_Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat in his father's living room, feeling kind of excited, but he couldn't remember why. He looked around, seeing all the familiar decorations and furniture that he had always seen. The rain drizzled against the window, leaving a soft sound on the panes. _

_Suddenly, the peaceful quietness was shattered by a hard banging on the front door. He looked at the phone next to him, remembering why he had felt so...animated. He was waiting for Shannon to call. Another bout of hammering on the wood of the door made him feel conflicted. But then, he thought, maybe it was Shannon at the door, having skipped the phone call and coming straight to his home. He started to hear yelling, but he was surprised to hear that it wasn't Shannon. It was someone else, someone he recognised, but he couldn't think who for a minute. It was right on the tip of his tongue..._

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Open up, please!" The girl's cries roused Gibbs from his sleep, and even in his semi-conscious state, Gibbs knew who it was.

"Gibbs please! Gibbs!"

Lana.

Gibbs shot from his bed and ran down the stairs, pulling on a sweater as he went. He yanked the front door open, seeing the young girl stood there, drenched in rain and panting heavily.

"Oh thank God." She breathed when she saw him.

"Lana, what's wrong? What's going on?" Gibbs questioned, noticing a bleeding cut on her forehead, and that she was cradling her hand. He moved aside so that Lana could come in from the rain.

"Someone took him Gibbs, and I don't know what to do..." Lana broke down into a fit of sobs, and Gibbs put his hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her focused for long enough to get all of the information.

"Lana, took who? Who did they take Lana?"

"Tony." She sniffed "They took Tony."


	2. Chapter 1

_**A/N Seasons greetings my friends :) **_

_**Ok, so this is another fairly short chapter, but I got a little over-excited and wrote it all today :D **_

_**The only characters that I own, Lana and her brother and sister. All of the others belong to the creators of NCIS, and they are just borrowed for a little while. **_

_**I'll try and get another chapter up soon, but I dont finish college until the 21st, which saddens me greatly but hey ho...**_

_**once again, please R+R so I know that people are actually reading and enjoying this story haha!**_

_**thanks again,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

_**Chapter One.**_

"Well, who would want to take Tony?" Tim asked again. It was almost three am, and the bullpen was deserted, save for Gibbs and his team. Gibbs had called Tim, Ziva, Duckie and Abby in the car on the way to NCIS, with Lana full on panicking in the seat next to him.

"Well McGee," Lana replied sharply, while Duckie examined her hand and head "If I knew that, we wouldn't be sitting her right now, would we?"

"He's so annoying; whoever it was will probably bring him back soon anyway." Tim argued, trying to make light of the situation. However, Lana was far from impressed by his attempt.

"Someone broke into our house and kidnapped my father, and you're cracking jokes! Tell me Tim: at what point did this become funny for you?"

Tim looked down at his shoes sheepishly, and mumbled an apology. Lana looked back to Duckie, who was still trying to make her keep still while he looked at the gash in her head.

"I think you need stitches my dear." The doctor said gently.

"Duck, I don't have time for stitches. Just put a band-aid on it or something."

Duckie shot her a slightly disapproving look, but didn't argue. He was just as worried about Tony as Lana was.

They all were.

"Ok, tell me again what happened?" Gibbs said. Lana had already told him once, but she had still been in hysterics at that point. Now that she was calmer, Gibbs hoped that Lana would be able to recall a few more details. Lana closed her eyes, took a deep breath and spoke.

"It was around eleven. I was doing the dishes in the kitchen, and Tony was watching TV in the living room."

Each member of the team had been in Tony and Lana's apartment at one time or another, and as she spoke, they could all imagine in their minds where she was talking about.

"I didn't hear them come in, but I saw their reflection in the window in front of me. There were...two...guys, I think. They were freaking huge guys too- like, _really_ big. One of them had something in their hands, but I couldn't see what it was. I yelled real loud for Tony, and then I quickly reached for one of the knives- except the guys were faster. Whatever it was the guy was holding, he hit my hand with it."

Everyone's eyes automatically went to Lana's bandaged fingers. Duckie had pronounced that they were not broken, just badly bruised.

"Tony came in, started shouting, and the other guy hit me with whatever it was he had, and I... I don't remember anything after that."

Lana sighed and rubbed her face with her hands, lines of tiredness and worry beginning to etch onto her face.

"Gibbs, who would want to take him?" Lana whispered, silent tears sliding down her cheeks. Gibbs took her face gently into his hands, making her look at him.

"I don't know Lana," he replied quietly "But we're going to find him. I promise you."


	3. Chapter 2

_**A/N Hey guys, did everyone have a nice christmas?**_

_**Alright,first off, I'd like to apologize for it being so long since the last chapter, but with christmas and revision, I've barely had time to sleep never mind anything else LOL :)**_

_**Disclaimed: I dont own NCIS, and any characters that you recognise are simply borrowed for a while :)**_

_**Please Please PLEASE R+R because I really would like to hear people's opinions/suggestions/ideas/criticisms about this :D**_

_**Ok, I'm going to shut up rambling now and just let you all just read it haha **_

_**Thanks again,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter two.<strong>_

It was almost five am when the team pulled up outside of the apartment building that housed Tony and Lana's home. When they had decided to go and see what evidence they might be able to retrieve, Gibbs had tried desperately to make Lana stay at NCIS, but she had simply given him a look that said 'that's not going to happen', and clambered into the car with everyone else.

"Lana, you're car's here." Tim observed, surprised, when he saw Lana's battered red truck.

"Of course it is Tim, where else is it going to be?" Lana replied, quietly, wondering what returning to the apartment would show them.

"I thought you went Gibbs?"  
>"I did." Lana answered simply, not completely sure when Tim's thought process was taking him.<p>

"Well, how did you get there?"

Lana had to stop and think for a minute before answering. Though it had only been about two and a half hours, it felt like days since Lana had woken up on the kitchen floor, blood sticking her hair to her face, her fingers feeling like white hot thorns were being continuously stuck into them. It had taken a few minutes of calling for her to realise that she was alone in the apartment, and less than a second after that to know that it shouldn't have been like that.

"I ran." She finally answered, shrugging her shoulders casually.

Tim stopped in his tracks, mouth slightly agape.

"You ran? That's all the way across town."

"I couldn't find my car keys." She admitted, though it was not the whole story. After she had realised that Tony was gone, and her mind had unfuddled the events of the previous few hours, Lana's brain had immediately told her to go to Gibbs. She had spent a few minutes frantically searching for her keys, but then she started listening to the logical part of her brain that had told her that she couldn't drive because she had hurt her hand. She had looked for the keys for another minute or so, before eventually giving into reason and taking off down the stairs. She had not really thought about where she was going as she ran; only that she had to get to _someone. _Lana had only begun to slow when rain started to fall, stinging her face and bare arms as she moved.

However, Lana didn't feel like sharing that part of her morning with her colleagues, despite their badgering for more details. She had come to the conclusion that it wasn't relevant, so she kept it locked inside her own mind, burying it with other things that had been deemed unimportant.

The four of them-Lana, Gibbs, Tim and Ziva- rode the elevator in silence, none of them really feeling like talking.

When they reached the apartment door, it didn't matter that Lana didn't have her key; the door was open a little bit anyway. She could vaguely remember pulling the door closed behind her, but she couldn't recall hearing the click of the lock. If anyone else had looked at the door, they wouldn't have noticed that it was open; Lana only knew because Tony had warned her straight away that it might look closed and not be, so to be careful of leaving it open. Lana took a deep breath, and pushed open the door, peering inside before entering. None of the others really knew how they were supposed to act around Lana, so they simply let her lead them into the apartment, not wanting to argue with her.

Inside was utter chaos. They almost tripped over the wooden kitchen chairs that had been broken up and thrown into the hallway. Books had been strewn across the entire apartment, hundreds of loose pages littering the floor. The mirror that had hung in the living room had been smashed, and the pieces lay underneath. The couch had been upturned, and the TV looked like it had been hit with something, the screen having a hole in it.

If Lana had thought the living room was bad, the kitchen was worse. The dishes that Lana had been in the middle of cleaning were all in fragments on the floor, a few of them remaining in a considerably large puddle of blood. At seeing the red in the ground, Lana's hand instinctively went to the cut on her forehead, knowing that it was where it had come from.

"What are you thinking Gibbs?" Tim asked, noting the look of concentration on his boss's face as they all looked around.

"I'm not sure." Gibbs replied, his eyes flickering to Lana who looked at him expectantly. "Maybe a robbery turned sour."

"No," Lana answered quickly, "Nothing's missing."

"Lana," Ziva called from the other side of the room, near the dining table, getting everyone's attention. "Look at this."

Lana immediately went over to Ziva, to see what it was she was looking at. When she saw an immaculately white envelope with her name written in perfect cursive handwriting, Lana snatched it up and tore it open, not even thinking about the evidence that might have been pulled from it. She quickly read the words, as there were only a few, and Gibbs went cold as Lana's face paled.

"Lana," he said, taking a step towards the girl. "What does it say?"

Lana chocked out a violent sob before speaking.

"It says," she stuttered " 'The game's only just beginning.'"


	4. Chapter 3

**_A/N: Howdy! :D_**

**_Ok, first off, I'd like to warn everyone, I am fully aware that this chapter might not be as good as others, but it's more of a filler chapter, because I know what's going to happen, I just need to work out a decent way to get there lol_**

**_Secondly, I'd like to apologize in advance because this may be the last chapter I have chance to write for a few weeks because I've completely over-indulged myself with procrastination when it comes to revision for the exams I have in January, and I seriously need to do catching up! However as soon as the 17th comes along (the day of my last january exam, RE if anyone's interested haha) the pressure is going to let up massively and I promise this story will be my main priority 3 _**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters, they are simply borrowed for a little while :)_**

**_Alrighty, please R+R because it's gives me a serious self-ego boost when people do haha (However, if people want to leave comments that are not as positive as the ones I've had previously, as long as they are constructive, and not mean for the sake of it, I'd be more than willing to accept those too :D)_**

**_Thanks again,_**

**_xoloveJBox_**

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><p><strong><em><span>Chapter Three<span>_**.

When they returned to the bullpen, Lana immediately threw herself into work, making phone calls, sending emails, among other things to be one hundred percent sure that there was no other explanation for Tony's sudden disappearance. Tim and Ziva let her carry on, allowing her to give them jobs to do, while Gibbs made his way up the stairs to fill Vance in on the situation. It had been almost twelve hours since Tony had gone missing, and there was no way Gibbs could justify not informing the Director any longer.

It took less than twenty minutes, and when Gibbs and Vance emerged from the office and looked over the balcony, Lana was talking to a sketch artist, about the men who had broken into their home. Even from his elevated viewpoint, Gibbs could see the violently purple bruise on Lana's forehead, and the way she absent-mindedly caressed her bandaged hand as she spoke. He could hear the uncertainty in her voice as she described details of her attackers, but Gibbs knew it had less to do with Lana not being able to remember what she had seen, than it did with her fear of being wrong. They were all too aware of the fact that the only solid evidence they had to work on was her account of the potential kidnappers, and unless she was correct, they would waste much needed time chasing people that might not even exist.

Gibbs started down the stairs again, and was a little surprised when Vance followed him. However, Gibbs didn't question it, because he himself knew how much he hated having his own actions judged.

"Gomez," Vance barked when they reached the bullpen "A word."

"It's DiNozzo now Director," Lana replied coolly, never taking her eyes from the drawing she had been handed to check, "and just give me a minute: I'm almost done here."  
>"DiNozzo now!"<p>

Lana slowly drew her eyes away from the picture, her expression filled with something that Gibbs had never seen from Lana before, and he wasn't sure he could even work out what it was.

"How can I help you, Director?" Lana asked, her voice laced with bitterness as she got up and crossed over to her desk.

"Agent DiNozzo, I'm going to get straight to the point," Vance announced, standing in front of her "I cannot allow you to work this case anymore."

For a few seconds, the bullpen was completely silent, waiting for Lana's response. Needless to say they were all more than surprised when she suddenly burst out laughing.

"Like hell I can't!" She exclaimed, still smiling.

"Agent DiNozzo I- " Vance began before Lana carried on, interrupting him.

"Are you taking anyone else off the case?" She asked, indicating to Ziva, Tim and Gibbs, who were all pretending to be working, but were all listening in.

"No, but no one else is as close to Tony as you are."

"That's a pile of crap, and you know it. We're all just as close."

"Go home Lana." Vance ordered, trying to sound at least a little compassionate.

"How can I do that Vance? It's a crime scene!" Lana shouted, and for just a second she forgot herself, and banged her fists on the desk, making herself howl in pain. Lana let out a long stream of curses that was only stopped when someone emerged from the elevator and called her name.

"Lisa!" Lana yelled back, running over to the woman that came towards her. The two of them hugged for a long time, and Gibbs looked intently at the stranger.

She was skinny and pale, with dark, deep-set eyes and dirty blonde hair. Gibbs was pretty sure he had never seen the woman before, but there was something familiar about her, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

When Tim came to his side, Gibbs looked at him, hoping that the other man could shed some light on what was going on. Tim saw his bosses expression and shrugged his shoulders, not knowing either who the woman was. They watched as Lana and the woman whispered to each other, and the woman held Lana's face tenderly in her hands, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears that were streaming down Lana's face.

"Gibbs," Ziva hissed quietly, beaconing them both over "I think that is Lana's sister."


	5. Chapter 4

_**A/N Howdy howdy! How is everyone?**_

_**I know it's been a really **_**really _long time since I uploaded anything for this story, but with christmas, and then I had exams that only finished completely last week, I've just been so busy it's untrue. But I promise I'm going to make an effort to start writing this story again. Also, I had new ipod for christmas, and I'd done a lot of writing for this story on my old one, and I transfered it all to my new ipod, but then, last weekend I pressed the wrong button and deleted them all :( I tried for hours to get them back, but it just didnt want to work, so I was majorly ticked off, as I'm sure you can all imagine..._**

**_This is a really uber short chapter, but I felt bad for not uploading for a long while, so since this bit makes sense on it's own, rather than part of a longer chapter like it was going to be, I thought I'd put it up anyway 3 _**

**_Ok, I'm going to shut up in a minute (I promise haha) but first please please PLEASE R+R because I'd love to know what people think, and I'm always up for ideas/suggestions/ constructive criticisms! So yeah, please do it..._**

**_Thanks again, _**

**_xoloveJBox_**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Four.<strong>_

"Tell me exactly what happened." Lisa Gomez said softly to her sister as they sat- hot coffee between their hands- in the cafeteria.

"I really don't want to talk about it anymore Lis." Lana murmured, fatigue creeping up on her. She loved the fact that her sister was there with her, she just wished it was for a different reason.

"I can't believe this has happened" Lisa sighed "I mean, I was in the neighbourhood, so I thought I'd drop by and see you, but the whole place was taped off."

"I don't know what I'm going to do." Lana admitted quietly. Lisa took Lana's hands firmly in hers and squeezed encouragingly.

"We'll figure something out, ok? And I'm not going anywhere until we do, I promise."

"Thanks Lis, I appreciate it." Lana whispered, feeling herself losing the ability to keep herself together. She just couldn't get her head around what was going on. Why would someone want to kidnap Tony? And why would they call it a 'game'? It just didn't make sense.

"...Lana, are you listening to me?" Lisa's voice brought Lana back to the real world, after momentarily letting her mind drift.

"Yeah, sorry, what did you say?"

"I said, soon, we'll all be a real family again anyway." Lisa told her, beaming proudly.

"What are you talking about?"

"He hasn't told you? JJ's coming home!" Lisa exclaimed, grinning like an overly-excited child.

"No, he didn't tell me." Lana replied cautiously. Surely her brother would have let her know if he was returning from the Marines. They spoke on the phone fairly regularly, so why wouldn't he have mentioned it? "Did he say when he was coming back?"  
>"No, but he said it would be real soon. It's going to be great baby sister, you'll see. We'll be a family again."<p> 


	6. Chapter 5

_**A/N Hello there :)**_

**_I know it's been a couple of weeks again since the last update on this story, and I'm really sorry, but it won't be long until I'll have plenty of time to really focus on writing so I promise to make it up then :D At least this chapter is slightly longer than the rest so far haha..._**

**_I own no characters but Lana. The rest are simply borrowed for a while 3 _**

**_Before I shut up my babbling, please please PLEASE R+R because I've found since posting writing on this incredible website, that the reviews seem to act as an intense motivation for me to write, and I'm really enjoying it! I'll happily accept criticisms too, as long as they are constructive( but at the same time, if there's something you really don't like, please tell me, because if I'm not aware of it, I can't change it!)  
><em>**

**_Thanks a million times over..._**

**_xoloveJBox_**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 5<span>**  
>It was almost ten at night when Tim returned from Abby's lab, after spending close to an hour trying to keep her from having a complete melt-down. When he emerged from the life, he wasn't surprised to see that the bullpen was pretty much empty. It was late, and most people had returned to their lives for the night, but Ziva sat at her desk, tapping away at keys on her computer, and Lana was also sat at her desk, phone in her hand, despite the fact that she snore lightly with her head on the desk. Tim was glad she was managing to get some sleep. She had been so obviously exhausted, and she had spent all day panicking and worrying. Tim smiled weakly at Ziva, and eased the phone slowly from Lana's hand, sliding it back into its holder. However, he immediately regretted the decision when the phone began to shriek, and Lana's head shot up, startled by the sound, and she swore quietly before rubbing her eyes. She sleepily picked up the phone and bought it to her ear.<p>

"Hello?... Mr DiNozzo, hi, thanks for getting back to me..." She started, and Ziva and Tim grimaced. They each knew what was coming, and though they didn't want to hear it, neither of them could bring themselves to move out of earshot.

"Mr DiNozzo, I was actually wondering if you'd heard from Tony in the last 24 hours?... You haven't?... At all?..." Lana got up from her chair, picked up the main body of the phone and began to walk around the bullpen. She didn't want to be having this conversation, and didn't want to have to stay still.

"I, err...I'm not sure how to tell you this Mr DiNozzo," she started, her voice thick with tears that threatened to fall again. "But we think Tony's been kidnapped... We don't know who...We don't know why either Sir... Of course, he's just walked in; I'll get him for you." Lana announced just as Gibbs returned from Vance's office.

"Gibbs," She said quietly, with the phone tucked against her shoulder to hinder the sound. "Tony's dads on line 2, he wants to talk to you."

Slightly caught off-guard, Gibbs nodded and strode across to his desk.

"Tony," he said seriously, and Lana put down her phone, slumping down to the floor, leaning against her desk, hugging her legs and burying her face in her knees. She sat like that for a few minutes, listening to Gibbs trying to calm down Tony's father. When he was done, Lana heard the click of the phone, and a second later, she felt Gibbs sit on the floor next to her. She couldn't actually see that it was Gibbs, but she knew. The man gave off an unmistakable air of comfort, control and authority.

"Tony's father doesn't know about the adoption, does he?" Gibbs finally asked, though he knew the answer, even before Lana raised her head and looked at him sadly.

"No." She whispered simply "Tony didn't know how to tell him."

"Where did your sister go?" He asked, changing the subject swiftly.

"Home. She said she'd be back in the morning." Lana replied, rubbing her face.

"You should go to, you know. Get some sleep." Gibbs suggested, seeing how exhausted Lana seemed.

"Do you think Tony's sleeping right now?" Gibbs mentally winced at how unbitter and innocent her question had sounded. She was right, and Gibbs knew it.

"We're no good to Tony if we're exhausted."  
>"I don't think I can go back to the apartment right now Gibbs."<p>

"You don't have to. You can stay at my place."

Lana wanted to argue, but she couldn't find the energy, and she couldn't deny that her boss was right. She was so tired; her head didn't even feel like it belonged to her. She smiled weakly and nodded.

"I just want to talk to Abby real quick, ok?"

"Alright." Gibbs agreed as the two of them stood. Lana began to walk to the elevator, reaching it just as it opened to a dark haired stranger. Lana didn't take any notice of the man; people walked in and out of the office all day every day, and it wasn't unusual that she didn't recognise them. She stepped into the elevator, pressed the appropriate button, and leaned wearily against the wall, feeling the almost unnoticeable jolt as the elevator began to move. Before Lana had time to formulate recognisable or constructive thoughts, the door let off a small _ding_ and opened, revealing the institutional-like silver metal door of Abby's lab. When the gothly clad girl heard the doors _swoosh _open, she peered around curiously, already on edge with everything happening with Tony. When she saw that it was Lana who had emerged, Abby silently strode over to the girl and wrapped her arms around her neck, enveloping her in a vice-like hug. They stood like that for a few long moments, each taking comfort from the other's presence for a while, until they were interrupted by footsteps outside the door, and when they turned towards the door, they were confronted by a panting McGee, looking panicked and desperate.

"Lana," he gasped, after having ran down the stairs to get her, seeing it as quicker than the elevator "What is it Tim?" Lana stammered nervously, images of all the things that could have gone wrong flooding her mind all at once. Well, all of the _other _things that could have gone wrong.

"There's another letter upstairs."

Lana rushed from the elevator; Tim and Abby close behind, and saw Gibbs and Ziva waiting for her. The letter seemed to glow from the surface of her desk, shining like a beacon, daring anyone to try and ignore it. She quickly snatched it up, not bothering to ask where it had come from before rapidly spinning it over in her hands, seeing the same messy handwriting that had been on the first note, back in her and Tony's apartment. She tore into the paper, not really thinking about the evidence she could be destroying. Honestly, she wasn't really thinking about anything, other than gaining more information about what had happened to Tony. She pulled out the paper and scanned it with her eyes, letting the words there sink in dismally.

"What does it say?" Abby asked, and when Lana looked up, she saw that everyone else was looking at her expectantly. In a sad, dejected voice, Lana relayed the writing on the paper.

" 'You'll see him alive again, as long as you play by the rules.'"


	7. Chapter 6

_**A/N Hey! I thought I'd get another chapter up fairly quickly to make up for the fact that I haven't posted any for a while :D**_

_**I've only really been able to get this chapter up so quickly because I had the flashback, which is the majority of this chapter, written months ago, so I only had to type it up :) BUT I'm not knocking the fact that it's the second upload in two days haha.**_

_**The amount of people reading this, that I've seen on the traffic stats thing is INCREDIBLE, and I want to thank everyone who is still reading my stuff! I already have a pretty solid idea for a third story about Lana, so as soon as this one's finished, I'm going to get started on that one!**_

_**Ok, lastly, please please PLEASE leave me a review, because I'd love to know what people are thinking of this story, and if people are reading (and enjoying) it! **_

_**Thanks a million,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 6.<strong>_

Tony dragged his eyelids open wearily. Even with his eyes wide, he could barely see anything. The room he was in was dark and damp, and his shoulders ached from how tightly his hands were bound behind his back. The rope around his wrists was rough and harsh on his skin, and every time he moved, he felt more burning as the material rubbed him. His head pulsed pain, and the steely, metallic taste of blood tainted his mouth. He had no idea what time it was, or how long he had been kept; there were no windows, and no sounds to judge from. His mind was swimming with images of the last few hours of what he could remember. He could recall eating dinner with Lana, and coercing her into doing the dishes even though it was his turn. He remembered choosing a DVD to watch and pushing it into the player, and sliding it into a comfortable position on the couch. He had been dozing off into sleep when he had heard Lana shout his name. It had taken him a second to realise that it had really happened, that he hadn't just dreamt it. He had flown from the living room into the kitchen, but it was already too late. Lana had been lying on the floor, unconscious, with a deep gash on the side of her head that oozed dark, velvet blood. Before he'd had chance to react to what he saw, there was a sharp pain in the back of his head, and then there was nothing at all.

His stomach lurched when he thought about Lana. He hadn't had a chance to make sure she was ok, and the uncertainty ripped him apart. While Tony didn't understand his feelings towards Lana, he didn't doubt that they were right. Tony had never really imagined having children of his own; never mind loving someone else's. He had never expected Lana to have such an impact on his life- in fact; he hadn't cared for the girl very much at all in the beginning. However it didn't take long for the team- even Gibbs himself- to realise that their previous doubts and attributions about the young girl had been wrong. She had completely blown them all away. Lana was by far the most intelligent person any of them had ever met, but she wasn't awkward or snobby with it. In fact, she'd been terribly normal for a sixteen year old girl. She listened to music, watched TV and read books. The only thing that hadn't been ordinary was the fact that she no longer went to school, after graduating six years early at the age of twelve. Of all these things, it was her eyes that struck Tony. They were so old and knowing, contrasted with her youthful appearance, it was almost scary. It hadn't taken Tony, or anyone else, long to realise that they liked the girl, or that she was incredibly good at what she did.

It had taken Tony totally by surprise when he realised that he no longer saw Lana as a friend and colleague. There had never been any _inappropriate _feelings there: Tony had never felt like towards her, but there was something there, something Tony had never felt before, and it had taken him a while to identify what exactly they were.

Thinking of Lana made Tony remember the night he had finally worked it out. It had seemed to simple, so obvious, he didn't know why he hadn't come to the realisation earlier: his thoughts were _paternal._

_Tony sat in his living room with the TV on, but he wasn't really watching it. He was thinking about the day he was glad to leave behind. It had started off badly for all of them, but it had only gotten worse, ending with a gun pressed against the back of Ziva's head by the guy they were after, forcing Lana to discharge a bullet into his chest. Tony had been more than happy to return home and try to pretend it had never happened. He had showered, changed, and slumped in front of the TV, hoping to snooze. _

_As he began to doze blissfully, listening to the rain battering against his windows, a banging on the front door had quickly grabbed his attention. More banging continued as Tony rose from the couch, stretched slightly, and made his way over to the door. _

"_Alright, alright; I'm coming." He muttered darkly as he padded barefooted along the light carpet. _

_He pulled open the door and saw Lana, dripping wet and dithering. Her face was red and puffy, and Tony could tell that she had been crying. _

"_Lana? What's wrong?" he asked, watching drops of water fall from the ends of her dark hair and hit the floor._

"_I'm sorry Tony," she stammered "I shouldn't have come here. I'll see you tomorrow." Lana turned to leave, but Tony grabbed her wrist to stop her. _

"_Whoa whoa whoa, just wait a minute. Come back here and talk to me." Tony told her softly._

"_I just...I didn't know where else to go Tony." Lana admitted, bringing on a fresh wave of tears. Tony pulled her closer to him and hugged her tightly. He knew why she felt the way she did; she felt guilty, and he knew what that felt like. Tony held Lana as she sobbed and exclaimed "I killed him Tony" over and over into his chest. They carried on like this for several minutes, until Lana finally seemed to have exhausted herself. It was only then that Tony could move her into the apartment and close the door. He led her over to the couch and tried a new conversational topic. _

"_Did you drive all the way over here in this rain?" Tony could only imagine how difficult it had been to see through the heavy sheets in the dark._

_Lana nodded "I needed someone to talk to." She replied quietly._

"_If you'd called me, I would have fetched you." He told her simply and honestly._

"_I know." She replied. Tony saw as her eyes filled with tears again, threatening fiercely to fall "I killed a man today Tony."  
>"No, what you did was save Ziva's life. She would be dead if it wasn't for what you did this afternoon." He reassured her, but Lana shook her head, refusing to dismiss her actions. <em>

"_I shot him in the chest Tony."_

"_Lana, the guy was about to put a bullet in Ziva's brain. You did what you had to." _

"_I could have shot him in the foot, or in the arm. You can't tell me that if I had, you wouldn't have been able to get his gun away, before he hurt Ziva." Lana spat darkly and Tony saw a coat of self-loathing forming over her. He took her shoulders firmly and made her face him. _

"_Maybe I could have; we'll never know. But were you going to take that chance with Ziva's life? Were you going to risk her over a murderer? I know I sure as hell wouldn't have." _

"_I can't get his face out of my mind." Lana whispered sadly, and Tony could physically see the guilt eating away at her. _

"_I'm not going to lie to you Lana," he said softly "that won't go away any time soon. But eventually, you won't see the face of a life you took; you'll see the faces of the lives you saved by getting rid of him. Now, tomorrow, when you get to the office, you're going to look at Ziva, and that process is going start right there, got it?" _

"_Yes sir." Lana answered, sounding like a small, chastised child. _

"_Good, now come on; let's see if we can find you some dry clothes." _

"_I have to go home Tony." Lana told him, but Tony was still not convinced that it was actually safe for her to drive, so he put his foot down. _

"_No. You can stay here tonight. I'll wash your clothes for you, so you can wear them in the morning, but you're not going anywhere."_

_Lana was suddenly exhausted, and didn't have the energy to argue with him. She simply nodded and caught the dry towel that Tony threw to her from the bathroom. She started with her hair, because the icy water was dripping and running down her back uncomfortably. _

_Tony put the shower on for her, and passed her some of his smaller sweatpants and a t-shirt. She smiled gratefully before going into the bathroom. Even from across the living room, he heard the _plop _of her wet clothes on the floor. While Lana showered, Tony called the kids home that Lana lived in, to tell them that she was staying with him. They were so used to Tony that no one even questioned it. He arranged to pick up some of her things later that evening, thanked the woman and hung up. As he thought about ordering pizza, he heard the shower shut off, and he knew he didn't have long until she would be out. _

_Although he had been tired before Lana had arrived, he found his energy renewed by the knowledge that Lana needed him. He knew that no matter how mature and grown up Lana acted, she was still a child, and children all just wanted someone to tell them that everything would be fine when things went wrong. He wandered why Lana had come to him, when she could have gone to her sister, or Gibbs, but then he thought that it didn't really matter. He felt useful. The most important thing was that Lana had felt that she _could _go to him for comfort, and he was going to make sure he did a damn good job. _

_While Lana dressed, Tony went ahead and ordered the pizza. While he waited for its delivery, Tony fished out a clean quilt and pillow, fitted them in sheets and put them on the sofa .Lana emerged from the bathroom, dressed in clothes that were too big, but at least she looked warmer and calmer. The two of them curled up on separate ends of the sofa and watched the old movie that Tony had slipped into the DVD player before Lana had knocked on his door. When the pizza came, Tony paid and tipped the greasy looking teen that delivered it, and took it straight to the kitchen for plates. Usually he wouldn't have bothered, eating it straight from the box, but he knew that Lana would have preferred to be slightly less animalistic. _

_However, by the time Tony pushed open the door to return to the living room, Lana was snoring lightly, her body tucked up as tightly as she possibly could have got. Tony smiled and took Lana's food back into the kitchen, putting it into the oven to keep it warmer for longer, before sitting at the kitchen table to eat his own. _

_By the time Tony disposed of the empty boxes, it was dark outside, the fading light hastened by the drooping, heavy clouds that poured rain for as far as could be seen from Tony's apartment window. As he flicked through one of the many movie magazines he had dug from a drawer in the kitchen, Tony jumped in surprise when the phone began to shriek in the living room. He went straight in to answer it before it woke Lana up, but the girl barely stirred._

"_Hello?" he said quietly when he answered._

"_Tony?" He heard Tim say, sounding slightly panicked._

"_Tim, you called my apartment; who else is it going to be?" _

"_Tony, have you seen Lana? No one can get a hold of her, and Abby's freaking out because she went to see Lana, and they told her she just took off."_

"_Yes, McGee, she's asleep on my couch." _

"_Oh," Tim said, sounding like he hadn't expected a positive answer from Tony. "Is she ok?" _

_While he considered his answer, Tony glanced across at the girl. Her hair was still damp from her shower, and she pulled the quilt tightly up around her neck, but she looked fairly at peace._

"_Yeah," he finally replied "she will be."_

Tony didn't regret the decision to adopt Lana, and he knew he never would. He had been amazed at how perfectly and swiftly she had fit into his life outside of NCIS, and he felt about her what he imagined Gibbs had felt about Kelly. It just felt right. He only prayed that she wasn't hurt, that she had found a way to get help and that she was safe.

His thoughts and worries of Lana were quickly interrupted by someone entering the room, flooding the whole place with a harsh, artificial light that caused Tony to squint his eyes away from it. The door closed again, and the room was bathed in darkness once more.

"What the hell is going on?" Tony demanded, sounding stronger than he felt.

"Shut up." was the response. The voice was male, big and rough. The stranger in the dark stalked around the chair slowly, and though Tony could never pinpoint his exact location, he had a pretty good idea.

"Where's my daughter?" Tony barked, sheer determination showing through his pained voice as his head throbbed.

"You'll find out soon enough." Mr Darkness replied, and anger coursed through Tony's body.

"Tell me now!" He barked, summoning as much energy as he could muster at that moment. This time, his only answer was his head being pulled back sharply by a grip with a handful of his hair, and a small flashlight being flicked on, casting an eerie glow over the man's pale features.

"I swear to God, if you've hurt her; I'll kill you." Tony growled, staring directly into his captors beady, dark eyes.

"Is that a threat?" the man asked, smirking menacingly.

"No." Tony answered simply, never being so truthful in his life "It's a promise."


	8. Chapter 7

_**Howdy readers :)**_

_**Ok, so first of all, I know that it's been a couple of days again, and I'm reallysorry. I've just had so much other stuff to do, so this story has kind of gone on the back burner :(**_

_**To be completely honest, I've kind of lost the flow of this story, so I'm going to wrap it up quicker than I originally planned, and start working on the next one. I have the next one almost completely planned out, and I'm kind of playing around with ideas for a fourth story, so if anyone's got any idea/suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Please R+R because I love to read them, and they act as motivation for me to continue!**_

_**Thanks a million,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 7.<strong>_

"Are we missing something? What the _hell_ are the rules?" Lana demanded for about the hundredth time, pacing the bullpen.

"Lana, will you sit down?" Gibbs asked quietly, noticing the track lines in the carpet that traced her path. However, she simply carried on as if she hadn't heard him.

"This doesn't make any sense! How are we supposed to make sure we follow the rules if we haven't been given any?"

"Lana," Gibbs repeated more firmly, but the soft, compassionate tone he often took with his young agent remained "Sit down."

At this point, Lana was beyond reasoning with. She had gone into full blown freak out mode, which was rivalled only by Abby's. Abby had quickly whisked away the letter, determined that there was _something _to find, something that would lead them in the right direction. In ways, Lana's freak out was harder for Gibbs, Tim, Ziva and Duckie to take. They were used to Abby's reactions when things went wrong. They could deal with that. But Lana was different. She was usually so calm and collected. Nothing seemed to faze her, and she always managed to keep her head in a crisis.

Except this one. Except with Tony.

Knowing that Lana wasn't going to listen to him, Gibbs went over to her, took her shoulders, and guided her to a chair. He sat her down and knelt in front of her, placing his large, rough hands over her smaller, unblemished but trembling fingers.

"Listen to me: I don't know what's going on, but we'll figure it out, and we'll get him back." He told her, his voice so low that only Lana could hear him.

"Yes," she replied, matching his tone "but the question is, will we get him back alive?"

While he considered an answer for the young girl in front of him, Gibbs used his steely, intensely clear blue eyes to stare directly into her sparkling, emerald orbs.

"Yes." He finally answered.

Lana nodded, an action that was so small, it was almost unnoticeable, before she used her sleeve to wipe her face, and pushed her chair back.

"I'm going to see if Abby found anything." She announced, sounding slightly shaky, but she didn't turn back when she walked away, because she didn't want her colleagues to once again see the tears that had welled in her eyes.

"Tim, did you check Tony's phone again?" Lana asked, simultaneously typing on the computer with her phone tucked between her shoulder and her cheek. No one was sure what Lana and Abby had talked about, but when she had returned, she had been full of seemingly renewed energy, and have dove straight into work again. She had decided that she wasn't even going to bother and consciously try and sleep, because every time she agreed to, it seemed that it was at that moment when things went wrong or changed. It might have been an unrealistic vow to make, but it was one she made all the same.

"Do we even know whether he has it on him?" Tim asked, unsure exactly what he was supposed to be doing.

"It wasn't in the apartment, so we have to assume that he does. It can't hurt to check, right?"

Though Lana didn't know it, Tim _had _checked. Dozens of times in fact. He had been checking at least once every half an hour. He had started to feel useless, like there was something he should be doing but wasn't, despite the fact that they had absolutely nothing to work with, so he checked Tony's phone. It was the only things that made him feel like he wasn't doing nothing.

For another two or three hours, the entire team worked endlessly, chasing red herrings that each left them feeling more dismal than the one before. Gibbs sat at his own desk, and he saw Lana yawn for about the twelfth time in the past thirty minutes, and she stretched widely, picking up her phone once again.

"Lana," he suddenly barked, making the girl jump. "Go home, get some sleep."  
>"I'm fine Boss." She replied, starting to dial another number.<p>

"Tim, take her home." Gibbs said, ignoring Lana's protests. "Don't come back until you've gotten some sleep, got it?"  
>Lana started to argue, but she knew there was no point; no one ever won an argument with Leroy Jethro Gibbs. She sighed, knowing she was just wasting time, and she slid the phone back into the holder, following Tim to the elevator.<p>

Lana hadn't noticed that it had started to rain. It pattered gently against the windows of Tim's car as he made his way through the city traffic. They drove in silence, each distracted by their worries and thoughts. Neither of them spoke at all until Tim pulled up outside Lana and Tony's apartment building.

"Do you want me to walk you up?" He asked quietly, fatigue creeping up on him.

"No thanks, I'm a big girl." Lana whispered back. She didn't have the will or the energy to even speak at a normal volume anymore.

"Do you have your gun?" Tim questioned, aware of the fact that the original attack on Lana and Tony had been for no apparent reason. There was nothing to say there would not be a repeat performance.

"Yes Mommy." Lana replied. It wasn't malicious, or sarcastic, or...anything. She smiled weakly and thanked him for the ride.

"Call me when you're ready to come back, I'll pick you up." He told her softly, and she nodded slightly before closing the door and jogging the short distance to the entrance.

The apartment was still a mess when Lana slid the key into the lock and pushed open the door. She did a quick sweep of the rooms, her gun poised, and she felt stupid and paranoid when she found nothing. The whole place was unnaturally quiet, and Lana felt almost uncomfortable there. She sighed, looked around and decided she didn't have the energy to do anything about the chaos that littered her home. She unravelled the bandages Duckie had wrapped on her swollen fingers, made a mental note to ask him to reapply some when she saw him next, and stripped, climbing into a scorchingly hot shower. When she was done, Lana felt marginally better as she changed and clambered into her bed, slowly falling into a fitful sleep.

Lana's eyes jerked open a little over an hour after closing, and she had to take a few deep, calming breaths before she could clear through the fog in her brain. She sifted through the images of her sleep, and deciding that she didn't want to acknowledge the nightmares that had plagued her slumber, she stored them away, deep inside her brain where hopefully she would just forget them. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep again, she got up and dressed, pulling a brush through her long hair and tying it back away from her face. She wanted to return to the office, painfully aware that anything could happen while she was away, and if it was something serious, would Gibbs have time to call her? Would she be able to get to the bullpen before everything was too late? She didn't want to think about it, but she knew that if she returned so soon after being ordered to leave, Gibbs would be reluctant to let her do anything anyway. As a way to kill some time, she decided to begin the massive clear-up operation it would take to return the apartment back to its normal state.

It took her almost an hour and a half to clear the living room. She had wanted to salvage the books, but she knew that she couldn't, so she begrudgingly tossed the pages and empty spines into a garbage bag with the remnants of the large glass mirror that had sat majestically on the wall. There was nothing she could do about the TV, and the sofa cushions would need sowing, but other than that, the living room was pretty much normal again. Seeing the difference motivated her, and she soon set to work in the kitchen too. She filled the sink with hot, soapy water and lifted the bowl onto the floor, fishing out an old rag from the cupboard to wipe the blood from the floor tiles. This was probably the only part about the whole thing that gave her any hope. The only blood that she knew about was hers. As far as Lana could tell, Tony had not been hurt before he had been taken from their apartment. She scrubbed the floor clean, not just stopping when the blood was gone, but moving across the entire room, dragging the bowl along with her. The motion felt almost therapeutic, and Lana felt her mind clearing a little. However, that was all reversed when she found something just under the edge of the dining table. It was a small slip of paper, and Lana almost didn't notice it. Curious, wiped her hands on her jeans and pulled it out, unfolding it to reveal a phone number. Without knowing what it was, Lana knew that it was _something,_ and she had to get it to Gibbs as soon as she could.

"Gibbs!" Lana yelled when she rushed from the elevator a little over half an hour later. Gibbs was surprised when he saw his youngest agent. It had been less than three hours since he had sent her home for sleep, and she had immediately shattered the silence that had fallen over the almost empty bullpen.

"Lana, what are you doing here?" he demanded, standing up.

"I was cleaning the apartment and I-" she started, though she was quickly interrupted.

"I thought I told you to get some sleep."

"I did, I slept for an hour but-" Gibbs groaned, once again cutting Lana's explanation short, but she was desperate to get it out and wasn't patient enough to wait Gibbs out.

"I found something!" She yelled, making sure she couldn't be interrupted again, immediately reaching the quietness she had wanted to begin with. Tim and Ziva approached them then, curious to know what it was. Lana pulled the paper from her pocket carefully. She had been careful not to touch it too much, not wanting to contaminate any leading evidence that might remain on it, but at the same time, in the cab she had taken to get back to the office, she had felt her fingers sliding to it two or three times to make sure it was still there.

"This was under the dining table," she explained. "It's not mine, and that's not Tony's writing."

"You think it could be from one of the men that broke into your apartment?"

"I don't know," Lana concluded "but it can't hurt to check, right?"

Gibbs silently agreed, and gently took the paper from her, switching his phone to loudspeaker so that the rest of his team could hear too, and dialled the number. He checked it twice carefully before pushing the last digit, wanting to be completely sure it was right before he did anything. The dialling tone seemed to purr at them for a while, and they began to think that no one was going to answer. Gibbs was about to hang up when a voice came through, tinny and quiet, but there all the same.

"_I thought I told you idiots not to call this number?" _came the voice. No one said a word in response.

"_Hello? Is anyone there."_ Gibbs could tell it was a woman, but that was all. She had a generic American accent, and there were no other distinguishing features about the sound. However, for Lana, this wasn't the case. Her blood went cold when she heard the voice carrying on.

"_I said, is anyone there? Hello?... Idiots." _They heard the click of the phone hanging up. Lana felt the blood rush from her face. Her stomach lurched and her head spun. She recognised the voice. In fact, she more than recognised it. She knew it well. She had grown up with it.

The voice belonged to Lisa Gomez.


	9. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Hey there :)**_

_**So, this is a fairly short chapter, but to be honest, I hadn't really intended on writing it. I just started writing, and this is what came out haha! Like I said before, I'm going to wrap this story up pretty quickly, so there may only be another 3 chapters or so, but I've got the third planned out, ready to write, and I'm playing with ideas for a fourth. You're not getting rid of Lana that easily haha :)**_

_**Alright, I'm going to stop babbling now lol. Let me know what you think!**_

_**Thanks a million,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter eight.<strong>_

"Hey!" Tony yelled, his voice growing hoarse and his throat getting scratchy. He didn't know how long he had been shouting for. He didn't know who he was shouting at. He didn't know where he was, or why.

He didn't know anything anymore.

As far as he knew, there had been no ransom demands. Certainly no one had asked _him _for anything. Nobody had come in for anything that could be used as proof of life for the demands. The thought made him wince. What if there were no demands? What if this was it? Tony tried to push those kinds of thoughts from his mind. He was Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. This wasn't supposed to happen. His life was supposed to end like this. He was supposed to become an extremely old man, making his grandchildren groan at the old movie references that they had heard a million times. The thought almost made him chuckle. Almost. He had never imagined himself having children, and now he was picturing grandchildren? The idea nearly made him laugh, but at the same time, he was close to tears.

No, he thought, everything's going to be fine. Gibbs is going to work the team to the bones, Ziva's going to use some very scary Mossad torture techniques to get information, and Tim is going to say lots of things that no one but Lana can understand.

Lana.

A pang of worry and longing hit him then, thinking about the little girl who had changed so much for him. It hadn't even been two years since he had first met the girl, and now he couldn't imagine how he lived so happily without her. He prayed that she was alright. Anger coursed through his veins when he imagined what he would do if his captors had so much as touched a hair on her head. Tony found himself revelling in the feeling, his rage giving him new energy and a purpose.

"Hey!" he screamed again "Is anybody there? Earth to...however the hell you are!"

In all the shouting and yelling he'd done, Tony had never got an answer, and he didn't expect one now. However, this time, the response caught him off guard as the door to the room was slung open rapidly, crashing against the other wall, and making Tony jump out of his skin. Two _huge _men walked in, with shaved heads, broad shoulders and thick fists tightly clenched. Tony was immediately silent, unsure what to do or what was going to happen.

"Would you shut up." Not a request, a demand.

"What are you going to if I don't?" Tony spat, not seeing any point on cooperating anymore.

"If you shut up now, we _might _not kill you."

"Ha!" Tony laughed darkly "You're going to kill me anyway."

"Actually, Agent DiNozzo, it's not on our agenda to kill you, as much as we'd love to. You're part of a much bigger plan."

A much bigger plan? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"You have an agenda? That seems like a bit of a big word for you, though doesn't it Gigantor. Who told you to say that?"

Angered by Tony's insult, the first man went to swing his fist towards Tony's face, only to find that he couldn't, because the second, slightly smaller man had grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Don't," he warned "Lisa won't be happy if we hurt him anymore."

Mr Gigantor hesitated for a minute, clearly disappointed that he wasn't able to give Tony yet another sock around the jaw, and frankly, Tony was grateful. He'd had enough punches to last a lifetime.

But who was Lisa? Tony was sure he'd heard the same before. He knew that it was a fairly common name; it could belong to any number of women he knew, but something in the back of his mind told him it was more than that. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew the name had some importance, _somewhere._

The men turned to leave, but the bigger one obviously just couldn't walk away from Tony without causing some kind of pain. DiNozzos seemed to have that affect on people. He turned back to Tony, smiled maliciously and kicked the chair that Tony was tied to backwards. Pain roared through Tony's arms and shoulder blades as they found themselves pinned under his body and the harsh wooden frame of the chair. Before the pain and unanswered questions sent Tony spiralling into unconsciousness, the last thing he heard was Gigantor laughing.


	10. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Get me, two chapters in one day :D **_

_**After this one, there's probably only going to be another two chapters, so it's almost finished! I'd just like to quickly thank everyone who's been reading this. I love writing, and it means a lot to me to know that people are reading my stuff! :) If anyone's got any suggestions of things they would like to see/not see in the next story let me know!**_

_**Let me know what you think!**_

_**Thanks,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Nine.<strong>_

It was early when Lana listened to her footsteps on the pathway through the park. The sun had barely fully risen. It was unseasonably cold, and Lana pulled the collar of her coat up against the wind. There was no one around. Lana was completely alone as she walked along, kicking the fallen, golden, crunchy leaves that had tumbled from the trees with the changing seasons. She could almost see her breath puffed out, coming out in little white wisps. Lana's hands shook nervously, so she clenched them into tight fists and jammed them into her pockets. She had tied her hair into a loose, messy bun, and her mid-length fringe fluttered across her face. She raised a hand to move it, and that's when she spotted her sister.

Lisa sat on a bench a little further along the walkway. Lana stopped. Lisa hadn't seen her yet; it would be easy for Lana to turn around and walk away, let Gibbs bring Lisa in instead. With the way Lana felt about her sister at that moment, she thought about it. But she couldn't do it. Lana had to at least talk to her sister about it, get Lisa to _explain._ Lana would even accept- in fact, welcome- it if Lisa told her that she had nothing to do with it, and they were thrown back to having nothing. Knowing it was now or never, Lana coughed loudly to get Lisa's attention. Lisa's head snapped around, beaming brightly, and it only made things worse for Lana. She tried to reciprocate the smile, but it didn't come out as enthusiastically as she had intended.

"Hey," Lana greeted quietly.

"Hi baby," Lisa replied, standing up with two foam cups in her hand. "I didn't know how you drank your coffee, so I got you hot chocolate instead."

"Thanks," Lana took the outstretched drink and took a small sip, grateful for the slight distraction.

"What did you want to talk about this early in the morning?" Lisa laughed as they took a seat back on the bench.

"How did you know about Tony, Lisa?" Lana asked, taking her sister slightly by surprise.

"I went to your apartment." The smile on Lisa's face was no longer genuine, it was faltered.

"But why? You hadn't come over to see me for months. Why that morning?" No matter how hard she tried, Lana couldn't bring herself to look into her sister's eyes.

"Just a coincidence, I suppose." Lisa tried half-heartedly.

Lana laughed sadly "I don't think so Lis. When was the last time you used?"

Lisa had been a chronic junkie since she was fifteen. Meth had always been her drug of choice, but occasionally, Lisa was forced to go for whatever was cheapest at the time. The mention of her drug abuse made Lisa's hands automatically fly to her arms, the skin there littered with track marks, though at that moment, they were covered by her coat.

"About a week ago." Lisa finally admitted. Lana took another long sip of her drink, momentarily not having anything she wanted to say.

"I'm going clean this time Lana." Lisa added, her features picking up slightly. Lana looked across to her. Lana knew Lisa had been pretty when she was younger, and still would be if it wasn't for all of the drugs, alcohol and cigarettes her sister had used to bury the pain they both knew she had endured. If Lisa had been asked, she would have said that the last time she had seen her little sister, before the day she had turned up at NCIS, was about four months before. But Lana knew that wasn't the case. Lana had spotted her sister only a few weeks before everything had happened with Tony, in the same park they found themselves in now, while Lana was out with her friend Sam. Lisa hadn't seen Lana, because Lana had made sure she didn't, though Lana wasn't sure Lisa would have been in the right frame of mind anyway. She had been high. Lana could spot that from across the large area of grass that had separated them. Seeing her mental images of that day made it hard for Lana to imagine what her sister was telling her was true.

"Why now?" Lana questioned "What's changed?"

"JJ's coming home."

Lana took a deep breath, and decided to just get it over with.

"Where is he Lisa?" Lana could feel tears prickling at the back of her eyes, forcing themselves forwards, but she tried to push them back again.

"Well, I don't know Lana, he's not allowed to tell-" Lisa started, but Lana interrupted her.

"I'm not talking about JJ."

"I...I don't know what you m...mean."Lisa stammered nervously.

"Where's Tony?"

Tears shone in Lisa's china blue eyes, slowly spilling across her cheeks. Lana let her cry, the air full of Lisa's silent sobs, and after a minute, Lana joined in.

"Where is he Lisa?" She asked again, choking back cries.

"I did it for you." Lisa finally whispered, and Lana cursed in her head. Lana looked across the back of the bench, saw Ziva hanging around behind them, and Lana beaconed her over.

"Tell me where Tony is Lisa." Lana demanded, her voice shaking as Ziva approached them. When Lisa spotted the other woman and two other men she knew to be agents that Lana worked with, she knew it was over. She didn't try to fight as Ziva slid cuffs around her wrists, reading her her rights, and searching her.

"JJ's coming home Lana, and I wanted the three of us to be a family again. Just the three of us."

Lisa continued as if Lana hadn't asked.

"Lisa!" Lana growled, tears still trickling down her face. "Where is Tony?"

"I want to talk to JJ." Was Lisa's only reply, and no matter how much she was asked, Lisa never changed her answer.


	11. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Three chapters in one night! I'm on a roll!**_

_**To be honest, I've managed to catch the flow again now, so I think I just got stuck on how to get to this point...Oh well. There's only two chapters to go!**_

_**Let me know what you think!  
>Love,<strong>_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Ten.<strong>_

As the elevator door dinged open a little over five hours later, Lana slept soundlessly at her desk. For the first three hours or so, Lana had tried everything to get her sister to open up, but nothing had worked. Each question gave her the same answer; that Lisa wanted to speak to JJ , so she had stopped trying

Lana's hands were folded under her head, acting as a pillow, her glasses still stuck to her face. When Gibbs saw who emerged into the bullpen, he gently shook her awake, feeling guilty for snatching her away from the few stolen minutes of snooze Lana had allowed herself. Lana mumbled groggily, raising her head and looking around. When she saw the tall figure standing in the corner of their office area, dressed in his immaculately neat marine's uniform, his hat tucked under his arm, she quickly got up and threw her arms around his neck. Lana hugged her brother tightly for a few long seconds before letting go, swinging her fist back and punching him hard in the nose. Gibbs quickly pulled her back, worried that she would try again, but she made no attempt to repeat her actions.

"Why did you tell her you were coming home? You lied to her, and now look what she's done JJ!" She screamed at the man in front of her, Gibbs stood defensively between them. Protection for JJ, not Lana. Ziva passed JJ a tissue for his bloody nose while Lana waited impatiently for an answer from him.

"I thought it would make her go clean." He replied quietly, his voice deep and soft. "I told her I was going to Chicago instead of here if she was still using. I knew she wanted the three of us together, and that she would do pretty much anything to get that."

"Yeah, she would do anything, but instead of going clean, she kidnapped Tony! I don't even understand why she did that!" Lana hollered, feeling like JJ's answers weren't satisfactory explanation for everything that had happened.

"She thought if Tony was gone for long enough, child services would take you back, and one of us could adopt you instead."

Lana felt the air leave her lungs as her brother spoke. What did 'gone for long enough' mean exactly?

"You got us into this mess JJ; you get us out of it." Lana demanded loudly.

"This isn't my fault Lana!" JJ yelled back, and Ziva took a step towards them, because Lana looked like she was about to pounce again, and Ziva knew that even though the young girl was a lot smaller than her brother, it would take more than just Gibbs to keep her away.

"It's sure as hell not Tony's either, and he's the one who's suffering because of us!"

"If you'd just let her adopt you in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem at all, would we?"

"Do not turn this on to me John-James!" Lana spat angrily. "You made that decision ten years ago, not me! I was six for god sake! This is between me, you and Lisa. Not Tony. Don't make him pay for how screwed up our family is."

JJ and Lana fell silent for a minute, each left to their thoughts. Ziva, Tim and Gibbs looked between the two siblings. None of them knew what was going on between them, but then, they thought, it didn't matter as long as the outcome was a good one: getting Tony back safely.

"Talk to her JJ, before I kill her." She told him firmly but quietly. Despite being eight years older than Lana, JJ followed her dutifully to the interrogation room that held their sister, listening intently as she filled him on the events of the previous few days. Gibbs, Ziva and Tim tagged behind, because technically, Lana shouldn't have even been a part of the investigation.

"What happened to your hand?" JJ asked quietly as they walked along, but the only response he got from his sister was a silent glare that felt like sharp little daggers even to the others, and it wasn't even aimed at them.

They reached the right room and stopped.

"I don't care what you have to say to her," Lana purred deeply "Just find out where Tony is."

JJ nodded and opened the door, while Gibbs, Lana, Tim and Ziva greeted Duckie in the room that would allow them to watch in on the conversation.

"What do you think Duck?" Gibbs asked, and Lana realised that the ME had been asked to perform a psychological analysis on her sister. She felt a brief flash of annoyance over not being told, but it quickly subsided, melting into curiosity at what he had found. Duckie shot Lana a quick glance, as if nervous to be speaking about Lisa while Lana was in the room, but he knew that she would not be leaving anytime soon, so he carried on anyway.

"Well," the Scotsman sighed "It's pretty obvious that she feels bad for what's happened." They all watched as Lisa got up and flung her arms around her brother's neck, sobbing into his shoulder. "And that would explain why she was so adamant to speak to her brother and not Lana."

"How so Duckie?" Tim asked, not completely sure he understood.

"Lisa knows how much Lana cares for Tony." Duckie answered simply "She feels bad for taking the lad away from her, even though in Lisa's eyes; it's the best thing for everyone. She knows that if anyone can convince her to tell us where she's keeping Tony, it's her brother. If she didn't want to be persuaded, she wouldn't have refused to speak to anyone else. It's a very clever plan actually, even if it is highly illegal."

The team were silent for a minute, watching Lisa and JJ interact with each other through the glass.

"There's one more thing I know for certain." Duckie told Lana quietly.

"What's that Doctor Mallard?" Lana sniffed.

"She loves you."

Before anyone had a chance to respond, JJ had crossed the interrogation room, and was tapping on the mirror that linked them all.

"Lana," he said quietly, getting all of their attentions. "Come here."

Lana hesitated, but only for a second before leaving the room and entering the next one. The atmosphere in the room was thick and tense, and Lana took out the small notepad and pen that she kept in her back pocket before sitting opposite her sister. Lana didn't want to look at Lisa, didn't want to be near her, but she was willing to do anything to get Tony back, just as Lisa had been willing to do anything to keep him away.

"I'm so sorry Lana," Lisa whimpered "I never meant for this to happen."

"Well it did Lis," Lana murmured back "So why don't you just tell me where he is?"

"It wasn't supposed to play out like this, and they weren't supposed to hurt you." Lisa put her hand on top of Lana's bandaged, bruised fingers, eyeing the gash on her head, but Lana quickly snatched her hand away. It hurt, but she didn't show it.

"Lisa," Lana warned when her sister _still _avoided the question.

"I just wanted you to come and live with me, for the three of us to be together again."

"Don't you get it?" Lana suddenly exclaimed angrily. "I don't _want _to live with you!"

Lisa was shocked to hear her sister say those words, and Lana was equally as surprised that they had come out, seemingly of their own accord. She hadn't meant to say them, but she knew they had to be said, so she carried on.

"They've been giving me and JJ the choice all along Lis. Right from the beginning, they kept reminding us that you were eighteen, so we could stay with you, but we chose not to. Even when Tony was adopting me just a few months ago, they made sure I knew the offer was still open."

Tears streamed down both girls' faces, and each of the three knew that Lana's words were true.

"It was the drugs Lis." JJ added solemnly, not taking his eyes from the floor. "It wouldn't have been safe for us. Lana was six; it wasn't the right environment for her."

No one spoke for a few minutes. There was nothing to say. They all knew that the truth had finally come out, and while it felt like a great weight had been lifted for Lana and JJ, they knew it was tearing their older sister up inside.

"Lisa," Lana said quietly, taking her sisters hand across the table. "Please. Tony is a good guy, and he cares about me a lot. He tells me at least once a week that you could come over whenever you want to. Please don't do this to him."

Lisa saw the pleading look on her sister's face, worry and upset etched right into her emerald eyes.

Lisa made up her mind. She let go of her sister's hand and pulled the notebook and pen towards her, scribbled an address and gave it back. Lana leaned across the table, kissed Lisa's cheek and whispered in her ear.

"Thank you."  
>Gibbs was waiting on the other side of the door when Lana rushed out, the paper in her hand like it was as valuable as the Mona Lisa. Gibbs took the paper from her and dashed away, throwing orders over his shoulder as he went.<p>

"Ziva, McGee, you're with me." He barked "Lana: you stay here with Abby and Duckie."

"What!" Lana exclaimed in disbelief. "No way!"

"Don't argue with me Lana." Gibbs demanded as they approached the elevator. "I'll call you as soon as we know something."

Lana wanted to argue. She wanted to push until she could go with them. She didn't want to wait for a phone call to know if Tony was safe, or hurt, or even alive, but she knew that Gibbs wouldn't make her suffer the way it would to be so uncertain if it wasn't for a good reason.

She sighed "The minute you know something?"  
>"The second." Gibbs promised as the elevator closed. Not wanting to be alone, Lana grabbed Duckie and they went down to Abby's lab to pace.<p> 


	12. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Hey there :D**_

_**Ok, so I know it's been a few days, but I wanted to make sure this chapter was right before I put it up. It's the last but one chapter! The next chapter will be the last one of this story, but you haven't got rid of Lana that easily! The next story is all planned out and ready to be written, so I'll start that as soon as I can. I think with the next story, I'll get a few chapters written and ready before I post any, just so that if I don't have time to write any for a while, I still have something to post fairly regularly. If anyone's got any ideas/suggestions for the next story, I'd love to hear them!**_

_**Let me know what you think!**_

_**Thanks,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 11.<strong>_

It was almost like slow motion. For a minute, the door seemed to glide to the floor, flung from its hinges, rather than crashing like it should have. It seemed to take years for Gibbs, Ziva and Tim's eyes to adjust to the dark. It only took them a minute or so to apprehend the two men. Gibbs guessed that they were the ones that had broken into Lana and Tony's apartment. They matched Lana's description perfectly. And they really were huge. The look on their faces as the team had crashed into the building, taking them completely by surprise had been almost comical.

Almost.

Gibbs was worried about having to use his gun. He never liked to use it, but for all he knew, these men were other relations to Lana, and he didn't want to get into a situation like that. However, once they were cuffed and secured, the only thought any of them had was Tony.

Tony was still lying on the floor, his arms remaining trapped under his body. He could hear the chaos and commotion outside the room, but he had no idea what was going on. For a moment, he was too terrified to move. He didn't know what to do. Should he make himself known to whoever was out there? What if it landed him in even more trouble? Surely he couldn't get into _more _trouble, could he?

While Tony's mind whirred and ticked with imaginary situations, Gibbs was feeling depleted. It seemed as if he had searched every room, and had found nothing more than scurrying spiders and unidentifiable bad smells. Gibbs kicked at the wall in anger and turned to Tim.

"Call Lana," he barked "Tony's not here. Her sister gave us the wrong address."

Tony froze. He was sure he had heard Gibbs. He listened for a second, heard nothing more than the blood pulsing around his head, and sadly dismissed the thought. He was beginning to believe he would never be found.

"_Tony's not here. Her sister gave us the wrong address."_

There is was again. Tony was certain this time that he wasn't imagining it. They had found him! Tony began screaming and shouting, praying that they heard him.

"Wait Tim." Gibbs suddenly said, and McGee stopped dialling. He remained still and silent as Gibbs listened hard.

"There is no sign of him Gi-" Ziva started when she found them, though she was only greeted by a loud 'shhhhh'

Then she heard it too. She would recognise Tony's annoying voice anywhere. But no matter how irritating Tony could be, she was relieved to hear him. The three of them began searching frantically; looking for anywhere they hadn't already checked. Tim started to make his way quickly in another direction- it was hard to determine which way the sound was coming from. He suddenly tripped over something hard on the floor, and he looked down at what looked to be a latch. He quickly moved the dank rug that covered it, revealing a trap door. He dove to his front, with his ear pressed to the floor.

"Boss!" He yelled "I found him!"

Gibbs zipped around and rushed over, having to help McGee heave the cover off. It was a small space, but Gibbs lowered himself into the hole, quickly followed by Tim and Ziva. The three of them only just fit into the space. They were pressed between the ladder and what appeared to be a door. Gibbs felt around for a handle, found one: icy cold under his fingers, but the door still didn't move.

"Move back." He told his two agents, and although there weren't places for them to go, they complied.

When Gibb's boot came into contact with the door, it crashed open with an almost deafening bang, and it was only then that Tony stopped yelling. His ears were ringing as he felt himself be lifted upright again, and he suddenly found himself totally out of energy. He could barely hold his head up as Gibbs muttered soft assurances and McGee untied him, but there was only one thing he wanted to hear.

"Lana?" he breathed, almost inaudibly.

"She's fine Tony," Gibbs told him "and so are you. Let's get you outta here." Tony tried to ignore the screaming pain in his arms and shoulders as he was lifted from the chair and into the embrace of safety.

Lana was still pacing when Duckie's phone rang. She froze, eyeing it nervously until Duckie finally answered it. Lana felt Abby standing very close behind her, each of them searching for comfort in the other's presence as they listened to the older man on the phone.

"Yes...Oh Jethro... yes, yes, I'll tell her...Thank you Jethro." Duckie hung up the phone, and Lana felt her breath catch in her throat. Was it her imagination, or did Duckie look sad?

"Come on Duck man," Abby prodded. Lana couldn't find her voice. "What did he say?"

"They found him." Duckie replied quietly. Lana wasn't sure she was encouraged by his tone.

"Is...Is he ok?" Lana stammered, whispering, though to her ears, it sounded like she was screaming.

"Gibbs said that he suspects Anthony's wrist is broken, but other than that; it's just cuts and bruises."

Lana let out a long breath and couldn't suppress the laugh that burst from her chest as Abby pulled her into a vice like hug. Lana's hands were still trembling when she felt Duckie slide his fingers into hers.

"They just got to the hospital with him." He told her "let's go and see how he's doing eh?"

The three of them rode the elevator out of Abby's lab, chatting happily as they got out and walked down the corridor. As they made their way out, they walked past the room that still held JJ and Lisa, and Lana momentarily stopped, thinking for a minute before going in.

"They found him." She told them simply before closing the door and rushing to catch up with Duckie and Abby.

It was raining hard by the time Duckie, Abby and Lana pulled up outside the hospital. Duckie parked his car as close to entrance as he could get, but even so, it only took a minute for them to be drenched. Lana couldn't contain herself any longer, and she skidded slightly as she hurried into the reception. It was a Friday night, and the place was packed. As impatient as always, Lana began to push her way through the crowd, indifferent to their complaints. However, she quickly turned when she heard someone calling her name. She could see Tim beaconing her over, and she went to him, silently following him down a maze of winding corridors that had the unmistakably sterile smell that almost made Lana crinkle her nose. But she wasn't interested in the smells. She wasn't interested in all the people looking at her as she took no notice of them. She wasn't interested in the janitor's tuts and sighs as she dripped water on the floor, marking her pathway. She just wanted Tony.

Soon, Tim stopped outside of a door and smiled at her, opening the door. Once again, a sound of pure happiness erupted from her as she saw him. He was battered, his arm in a cast and sling. His hair was a mess, and his lip was thick. His eyes were blackened, and small cuts littered his cheeks and arms. But he was there. Tears dribbled over her cheeks silently, and before she could stop herself, she ran over to him and threw herself into his arms. Tony winced slightly as he caught her, but he wrapped his good arm around her tightly as she cried on his shoulder, whimpering apologies in his ear. Lana had no idea that Tony didn't know what she had to be sorry about, but at that moment, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except that he was there and safe and...there.


	13. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Hey guys! :D**_

_**I know it's been a REALLY long time since I updated this story, and I apologize a million times! But here it is! The final chapter! I hope you enjoyed this story, and I want to thank all of the amazing readers for putting up with my seemingly endless babble! :D**_

_**The next story in this series will be called 'Unhealing Scars' so look out for that one! I'm going to try and stay a few chapters ahead for that one, so in theory, the updates will be nowhere near as sporadic!**_

_**Please let me know what you think, and if anyone's got any suggestions or things they want to see in the next story, just drop me a message or something :)**_

_**Once again, and million times over...**_

_**THANK YOU!**_

_**love,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

><p><em><em>_**Chapter twelve.**_

"You're sure you want to do this Tony?" Lana asked for the millionth time as the two of them drove to NCIS. Though Tony was not happy that Lana had to drive, he knew that he couldn't. His wrist was definitely broken, and it made driving pretty much impossible. He just wished Lana would have driven in his car rather than the battered old red truck she loved so much.

"Yes." He replied simply, the same way he had replied every time she had asked. Tony could see her biting her bottom lip nervously. He knew she didn't want to talk to her sister. It hadn't been until hours after he was rescued that Tony was told the reason he had been kidnapped in the first place, and he wasn't sure how he had felt about it at the time. Three days later, and he still wasn't sure. Though he hadn't admitted it to Lana it was the reason he had arranged to speak to Lisa. He wanted to see if talking to her, seeing her face-to-face, would bring him any clarity.

Lana fell into silence then, deciding to concentrate fully on driving. She hated to admit it, but she was anxious. But she wasn't sure what for. She wasn't worried that Tony would do something to Lisa, and she was certain that Lisa wasn't going to make things worse. Tony had managed to take care of himself perfectly well before she had even been born; she was sure he could make his own decisions.

So why couldn't she shake the uncomfortable feeling that had settled in her gut?

When they stopped at a red light, Lana momentarily took her hands from the wheel, fiddling with the radio to distract herself. She slid in one of her favourite cds, though she chose to ignore the groans from Tony over the choice. The sound of the acoustic guitar and deep falsetto voices fluttered around her head, and for a minute, she felt the fog in her mind clear a little.

But only a little.

Waiting for the traffic lights to change seemed to take hours, and Lana flexed her bruised fingers slightly. They still ached a little, but they were definitely better. They were still slightly purple, but at least she could use them again.

The lights eventually changed, and a few minutes later, Lana pulled into the parking lot of NCIS. She knew the rest of the team were working, and if it had been up to Lana, she would be too, but Gibbs had ordered her to stay at home for a few days. She wasn't particularly pleased with the decision, but she knew it could have been worse: she could be on desk duty like Tony would be when he returned to work.

Despite numerous offers, JJ had opted to stay at a hotel instead of with Tony and Lana, and Lana hadn't seen very much of her brother, which she felt bad about. When Lana had found out that Tony wanted to speak to Lisa, she had phoned JJ and arranged to meet him the same morning as Lisa and Tony's meeting. It was mostly because she knew JJ would be gone the next day- he was going back to...wherever it was he was stationed. JJ didn't like to talk about his work, and Lana didn't know any details about it- but it was also partly down to the fact she knew she would need a distraction while she tried not to think about what Tony and Lisa would be talking about.

When the elevator dinged open, and the two stepped out, JJ was already waiting, talking to Ziva. They were laughing animatedly at something unheard, and Lana strode over casually.

"JJ, stop distracting Ziva," she said simply "she's working."

"Hey Squeak" JJ greeted warmly, pulling his sister into a one armed hug.

"'Squeak'?" Tony scoffed "I like that."

"Shut up DiNozzo." Lana retorted.

"Lana, your brother is a very nice man." Ziva told her, smiling kindly at both Lana and JJ.

"Don't flatter him; his head's big enough." Lana said, though she grinned sideways at JJ. Tony waited patiently while he watched Lana stall. He knew she didn't particularly want him to speak with Lisa, and he could understand that, but he had to do it.

He cleared his throat loudly to get Gibb's attention. "Is Lisa in the interrogation room?" he asked.

"Yes." Gibbs replied simply. Ever a man of many words.

Tony saw Lana look away from him uncomfortably. Tony hated seeing her like that, but he didn't want to change his mind, so he walked away without looking back. It didn't take him long to locate the right room, and out of habit he knocked gently before pushing the door open.

It was the first time Tony had ever seen his daughter's older sister. At first, he was a little surprised. From Lana's description of Lisa's lifestyle, Lisa looked relatively healthy. One thing that struck Tony immediately was how intense Lisa's eyes were. They were the same as Lana's.

"You Tony?" she asked quietly, and he nodded before closing the door and taking a seat. They both sat looking at each other for a minute or two, drinking each other in, curious about the person sitting across from them, but for different reasons.

"Lana told you what I did, huh? Lisa murmured after a minute of silence.

"Yep."

"If it makes any difference, I told my guys not to hurt you." She eyed his arm that lay limply in a sling, clad in a bright orange cast. It was the only colour they had.

"It doesn't." Tony replied simply.

"Why did you want to see me?" Lisa finally asked, though it took Tony a little while to think of a decent answer.

"Honestly? At first it was because I hated you, and I wanted a face for that rage." He told her, knowing it was true.

"And now?" Lisa asked, picking up on the 'at first' part.

"I can't do that anymore."

"Why not."

"Because Lana looks like you, and I can't hate you if you remind me of Lana."

Lisa seemed to take a minute to consider what he'd said before continuing.

"Do you love my sister?" she asked, and Tony was a little taken back by question, but he answered it all the same.

"There are a lot of people I would die for, but not many people I would kill for." Tony began, almost whispering with the intensity of his words weighing down on him so heavily.

"And?" Lisa questioned, slightly confused by his response.

"I'd kill for Lana a million times." Lisa seemed satisfied with his answer and she nodded, seeming to take everything in.

"Is the fact that my sister looks like me the only reason you don't hate me?"

"No."

"Then what else is it?"

So far, the questions that Lisa had asked had been relatively easy for Tony to answer, except this one. This one stumped him, and though he knew what the answer was, he wasn't sure he could portray it in a way that made sense to anyone else; but he gave it a shot anyway.

"Because I love that kid," he told her slowly, leaning forwards, so that she would know he was serious. "and I can't guarantee that if it was the other way around, and I was the one trying to get Lana back, that I wouldn't have done the same thing."

Lisa's serious face suddenly broke out into a hearty smile, and he knew he'd given her the right meaning to his words.

"I like you, agent DiNozzo, and while I wish it was me that Lana had chosen to live with, if it had to be anyone else I'm glad it was someone like you."

"Thank you. That means a lot."

"What will happen to me now?" Lisa asked, the grin sliding from her face, and Tony almost heard it splat on the floor below.

"I don't know. I mean, I didn't actually _see _you. The only evidence that ties you to anything is your own confession."

Lisa considered what he told her, but didn't say anything, so Tony simply continued, knowing that if he didn't say what he had to soon, he never would.

"Chances are; you'll be sent to a drug rehabilitation centre for a while. When you finish, you'll be more than welcome at out apartment whenever you want. I know Lana would love for you to visit more often, but unless you're clean, or well on the way to being clean, please don't bother. I've seen the way Lana looks at you, the way she sounds when she talks about you, and she loves you, but it _kills _her to see you the way you are now. I don't know how much longer she can take of it. Just because she didn't want to live with you, doesn't mean she doesn't want her sister in her life. Lana puts in so much effort to be close to you, and unless you're willing to reciprocate, just stay away."

Tony saw slender tears dribble over Lisa's cheeks, and now that he had said his piece, he got up and went to leave, giving the woman an encouraging squeeze of her shoulder before whispering "If you're even half as strong as your little sister, I know you can do this."

As he gently closed the door behind himself, Tony could hear the woman's gently sobs, and he hoped she had listened to what he had said.

"Are you sure you want to do this Tony?"

"Lana, if you ask me that again today, so help me god..." he muttered as they drove along. It was dark outside, and the glowing neon signs of the city passed by from the windows of Lana's truck. He just didn't understand why she loved the battered hunk of metal so much.

"All I'm saying is you don't have to do this." She replied simply as she turned another corner, her eyes never leaving the road.

"We have to tell him at some point." Tony told her, and although Lana knew he was right, it still made her slightly uncomfortable. Neither said another word as they finished the short journey to the restaurant, and as they pulled up to the valet, Lana almost chuckled at the stunned look on the young man's face there. Her battered truck looked so out of place next to all the shining Italian sports cars, but she wouldn't have traded it for the world.

"Are you ready Kiddo?" Tony asked as they entered the building and spotted their company for the evening.

"As I'll ever be." She replied, taking a deep breath and taking the first step in the right direction, a pace or two behind Tony.

"Dad," Tony greeted as they reached their table, getting the attention of Anthony DiNozzo Senior. He spun around in his chair at the sound of Tony's voice and left from his chair.

"Junior!" The older man exclaimed, pulling Tony into a tight hug that made Tony wince a little. He was still sore. Lana hung back a little to give the two men a little time before she intruded. She looked down nervously when Mr DiNozzo spotted her.

"Dad, you remember Lana, right?" Tony asked, beaconing the girl to the table. She gingerly approached, and the three took a seat.

"Of course," the older man replied "You're the one who told me about Junior being kidnapped."  
>"Yes Sir" she answered, though it was less of a question than a statement.<p>

"Did you find out who it was that took my son?"

Lana took a deep breath before responding.

"Yes. It was my older sister." She told him.

"Why would she do that?" Mr DiNozzo exclaimed, a look of pure confusion on his face.

"Because, Dad, I adopted Lana." Tony told him simply.

"What?"

"You're a grandfather." Tony said with a wide, cheeky grin spread across his face "Congratulations!"


End file.
